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Ravens WR Jacoby Jones said he "knew" he would shock Broncos

Flacco's flail that diverted destiny knocked out Denver

Baltimore's Jacoby Jones runs to the end zone on a 70-yard touchdown catch from Joe Flacco in the fourth quarter past Tony Carter and Rahim Moore. It helped send the Broncos out of the NFL playoffs. (Doug Pensinger, Getty Images)

NEW ORLEANS — What was about to happen would stun a city, jolt a franchise and ruin a season that had bubbled with potential since summer. When Ravens wide receiver Jacoby Jones put his right foot on the Baltimore 29-yard line, he could see the future. That future for the Broncos wasn't going to be pretty.

"I knew it right away," Jones said Tuesday in the swirl of Super Bowl media day. "The minute I lined up, just looking at the way they were, I knew it was going to be there."

"It" is the play that largely ended the Broncos' season, a 70-yard Joe Flacco-to-Jones catch-and-run that tied the divisional-round game at 35-35 in the waning seconds of regulation, snatched a victory out the Broncos' hands, sent shock waves down their sideline and sent the game into overtime when Denver coach John Fox elected to run out the clock. The Broncos' season ended when the Ravens kicked the game-winning field goal five plays into a second overtime.

It was at the crossroads of daring and error, a remember-forever moment for both sides.

"Right now, before we play in the Super Bowl, it is the biggest play of my life," Jones said. "Right before the snap, I knew we would look there. I saw an opening. When (Broncos cornerback Tony Carter) didn't jam me and I got by him, it was over with."

The Ravens, down by a touchdown and facing third-and-3 from their 30 with 44 seconds remaining in regulation, lined up in a three-wide receiver set. Jones was lined up wide right, with tight end Dennis Pitta in the slot next to him.

Wide receivers Torrey Smith and Anquan Boldin were to the left. The Broncos were in a seven-defensive-back look that included four safeties — Rahim Moore, Mike Adams, David Bruton and Jim Leonhard.

The Broncos rushed three players toward Flacco — linebacker Von Miller, defensive end Elvis Dumervil and defensive end Robert Ayers.

"Joe is a playmaker," Smith said. "He saw a hole in that look, and he went for it. He saw the opportunity for a big play, and he made it."

Carter, lined up 6 yards off Jones at the snap, was supposed to "jam" Jones before the receiver got through the 5-yard contact zone in order to keep Jones from sprinting up the sideline. If no receiver was in the flat — in the shorter area near the sideline — Carter was supposed to follow Jones up the sideline after the jam. He did neither.

Jones came off the line untouched and was in full stride when he went by Carter. Pitta cut toward the middle of the field with Adams tracking him. Carter was looking in the flat when Jones went by him and paused, looking in at Flacco, as Jones slowed some. But seeing open space and Flacco getting ready to wind up, Jones shifted into overdrive.

"The O-line did a great job blocking, gave Joe that time and Joe was looking down there and just let that thing go," Jones said. "When I got off the line, I just went. Nobody touched me."

"There's really no real way to explain it," Flacco said. "It was an incredible game. It turned out in a crazy way."

Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Jacoby Jones scores on a long pass from Joe Flacco late in the fourth quarter against the Broncos, sending the game to overtime. (John Leyba, The Denver Post)

While several Broncos made mistakes on the play, Moore has received most of the blame in the aftermath because of the poor angle he took toward Jones with the ball in the air. He admitted afterward he was going for an interception. The ball sailed over his head.

At the snap, Moore was not lined up as deep in the defensive formation as Bruton was on the other side. Moore, the deep safety on the side of the formation where Jones was, had his left heel on the Ravens' 45-yard line at the snap.

As Jones passed Carter, Moore never closed the distance, and when the ball was on its way, Jones ran past Moore as well. When Flacco's pass arrived — Jones was at the Broncos' 20-yard line when he caught it — Moore was badly out of position to knock the ball down or intercept it, falling backward as Jones made the catch.

"I saw him level off his coverage instead of dropping back," Flacco said. "It was an all-vertical (route), so you're looking deep there, anyway. You don't necessarily expect to see your guy get behind their deep guy, but that's what happened and I figured, 'Go for it.' "

Moore fell to the ground, right in front of Carter, which kept Carter from catching Jones, who ran the final 20 yards untouched for the score. Had a Broncos player tackled Jones, time would have come close to expiring, because Baltimore had no timeouts left.

"I wish we would have done a better job of coaching it and executing it than what happened," Broncos coach John Fox said two days after the game.

"That play right there makes you believe," Jones said. "Nobody thought we could win that game. And down late like that, backed up a little bit, we made it happen. It all came together, but we believed. If you don't believe you can do it, you won't.

"I always say I make things goals, not dreams, and it's been a goal to play in a Super Bowl. I was glad to be there to make a play to help us get there."

Backbreaker

The Denver Post's Jeff Legwold breaks down the 70-yard touchdown pass play from Joe Flacco to Jacoby Jones against the Broncos that helped propel the Ravens to the Super Bowl:

1. The Broncos had seven DBs in the formation, including four safeties. The Ravens were in a three-wide receiver set. Tight end Dennis Pitta lined up in the slot. Flacco was in the shotgun.

2. Broncos rushed three, as Elvis Dumervil almost got to Flacco, and Von Miller almost batted the ball away after Flacco stepped up in the pocket.

3. Cornerback Tony Carter didn't jam Ravens wide receiver Jones at the line of scrimmage and failed to keep up with Jones on the sideline. Safety Rahim Moore was too shallow and failed to make up the ground on Jones once he got past Carter. Jones had run beyond Moore when the ball arrived.

4. Moore fell to the ground after he leaped attempting to knock the ball away, blocking Carter's path to Jones. Carter jumped over Moore, but it was too late. Jones was off to the end zone.

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